ngIRCd
Lightweight, portable IRC server for small or private networks
572 stars 81 forks last commit first released GPL-2.0
Actively maintained
Last commit 12 Jul 2026.
ngIRCd is a free, portable, lightweight Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server designed for small or private networks. It aims to follow relevant IRC standards while staying simple to configure, run, and maintain.
Key Features
- Lean, well-structured configuration suitable for quick setups
- Single-server operation or linking multiple ngIRCd servers into a network (LAN or Internet)
- Optional IPv6 support
- Optional SSL/TLS for client-to-server and server-to-server connections
- Optional PAM-based authentication support
- Support for many common IRC user and channel modes
- User host cloaking support
- Optional IDENT handling and character set conversion for legacy clients
- Portable C codebase and broad platform support
Use Cases
- Running a private IRC server for a small team, community, or homelab
- Hosting an IRC service on resource-constrained systems where a lightweight daemon is preferred
- Building a small IRC network by linking multiple servers across locations
ngIRCd is a pragmatic choice for operators who want a traditional IRC server with a small footprint, straightforward administration, and optional security and authentication features when needed.
Categories:
Tags:
Tech Stack:
Similar to ngIRCd
Openfire
Real-time collaboration server for XMPP (Jabber) messaging
Openfire is an open source XMPP (Jabber) server for real-time messaging and collaboration, with a web admin console and a plugin ecosystem.
InspIRCd
Modular C++ IRC server for modern IRC networks
InspIRCd is a modular, lightweight Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server with a flexible module system, designed for stable and performant IRC network deployments.
Flexisip
Modular C++ SIP server suite for VoIP, messaging, and conferencing
Open-source, modular SIP server (proxy, presence, conference, B2BUA) with push gateway, ICE/STUN/TURN, MySQL/SQLite support; optimized for mobile and embedded systems.
Citadel
Groupware server with email, calendaring, contacts, and web access
Citadel is an open source groupware and messaging server providing email, calendars, contacts, and a web interface with room-based collaboration.
ejabberd
Scalable real-time messaging server for XMPP, MQTT, and SIP
ejabberd is an Erlang/OTP-based messaging server providing XMPP chat and presence, MQTT broker capabilities for IoT, and SIP services for real-time communications.
Tox
Peer-to-peer encrypted instant messaging, calls, and file sharing
Tox is a decentralized, peer-to-peer communication system for encrypted messaging, voice/video calls, screen sharing, and file transfers without central servers.